Generic, genuine, or completely new? Branding strategies to leverage new products

This research presents a framework for branding new products that distinguishes between combining a parent brand with a generic sub-brand that is little more than product category identifier, combining a parent brand with a genuine sub-brand that creates associations unique to the new product, and developing a completely new brand with no reference to the parent brand. Within the framework, branding strategies for new products depend on the fit of the new product category with product categories in which the parent brand already exists, and the congruity of the positioning strategy of the new product with the current positioning of the parent brand. Discussing examples from various industries in multiple countries, this research identifies a number of factors that influence product category fit and brand positioning congruency, and hence, determine how much product-specific brand equity is necessary to leverage the launch of the new product.